The timing was perfect for LeBron James to get his first victory in Miami.
James, winless in his first eight visits to AmericanAirlines Arena, had 28 points and five assists Monday night to lead the surging Cleveland Cavaliers to a 97-90 victory over Miami, handing the Heat their 14th straight loss.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who improved to 8-1 in January.
“We’re just playing great basketball,” James said.
Dwyane Wade scored 42 points for the Heat, who are 8-32 overall – 2 1/2 games better than league-worst Minnesota. The 2006 NBA champions’ skid is the second-worst in franchise history, after Miami’s 0-17 start in its expansion 1988-89 season,
Ryan Gomes helped Minnesota finally get it done on the road, scoring a career-high 35 points – including the go-ahead free throws in the final minute – and grabbing 11 rebounds to help the Timberwolves beat Golden State 109-108 to snap a 16-game losing streak away from the Target Center.
“We were excited as you could tell on the floor,” coach Randy Wittman said. “It’s been a long time coming, on the road especially. … Tonight was the first night I didn’t see the shyness of trying to make a play. We were aggressive all the way to the end.”
In the other NBA games Monday, it was: Boston 109, New York 93; Washington 102, Dallas 84; San Antonio 95, Charlotte 86; Portland 111, Atlanta 109 in overtime; Indiana 110, Philadelphia 103; Houston 96, Seattle 89; Utah 109, the Los Angeles Clippers 93; New Orleans 106, Milwaukee 92; Memphis 104, Chicago 90; Orlando 102, Detroit 100; and the Los Angeles Lakers 116, Denver 99.
Wade scored Miami’s final 18 points and had 32 in the second half, both franchise records. Unfortunately, his teammates totaled six points on 3-for-21 shooting after halftime.
“Right now, we absolutely need him,” Heat coach Pat Riley said. “He’s doing everything he can do.”
Wade hit a 3-pointer with 30.8 seconds left to get the Heat within 92-88, before James essentially sealed it with two free throws 4.8 seconds later.
“D-Wade played incredibly well,” James said, “but we made more plays.”
Shaquille O’Neal finished with 10 points, all in the first half, for Miami, and Udonis Haslem added nine points and 13 rebounds.
“We’re going to win one of them,” Wade said. “Every game, there’s that hope.”
At Oakland, Calif., Al Jefferson added 21 points and 12 rebounds and Marco Jaric had 16 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, who won just their second road game of the season and first since a 103-94 win at New Orleans on Nov. 26.
It was also Minnesota’s second win in the past 15 games overall.
Wizards 102, Mavericks 84
Caron Butler had 25 points and nine rebounds, Antawn Jamison added 23 points and eight rebounds, and host Washington completed its first season sweep of Dallas since 1996-97.
Josh Howard scored 32 points in the Mavericks’ biggest loss of the season. Dirk Nowitzki added 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
Spurs 95, Bobcats 86
Tim Duncan had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead visiting San Antonio. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker added 16 points each and Michael Finley scored 13 for the Spurs, who shot 49 percent.
Emeka Okafor had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Charlotte.
Celtics 109, Knicks 93
Kevin Garnett had 20 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, and Boston routed host New York for the second time this season. Kendrick Perkins scored 22 of his career-high 24 points in the first half for the Celtics.
Zach Randolph had 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Knicks, and Jamal Crawford scored 22 points.
Pacers 110, 76ers 103
Kareem Rush scored a season-high 25 points and Mike Dunleavy added 24 to help visiting Indiana move into a tie with New Jersey for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Andre Iguodala led Philadelphia with 23 points and Andre Miller had 21.
Trail Blazers 111, Hawks 109, OT
Travis Outlaw scored 23 points, including a long jumper with 1 second left in overtime, to lift visiting Portland.
Joe Johnson scored 37 points for Atlanta, but missed a last-second shot.
Rockets 96, Sonics 89
Yao Ming had 30 points and 17 rebounds, Tracy McGrady added 17 points, and host Houston handed Seattle its team-record 11th consecutive loss.
Bonzi Wells scored 16 points for the Rockets, who have won seven of their past nine games.
Jazz 109, Clippers 93
Deron Williams had 18 points and 13 assists, and six of his teammates also scored in double figures to lead visiting Utah, which has won eight of 10 after losing 11 of its previous 14 games.
Corey Maggette scored 23 points for Los Angeles.
Hornets 106, Bucks 92
Tyson Chandler had 20 points and 15 rebounds, Chris Paul added 16 points and 10 assists, and host New Orleans won its fifth straight.
Michael Redd led Milwaukee with 19 points.
Grizzlies 104, Bulls 90
Mike Miller and Rudy Gay each had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead host Memphis.
Ben Gordon led the Bulls with 25 points, and Andres Nocioni added 16.
Magic 102, Pistons 100
After Chauncey Billups hit a 3-pointer to tie the score for visiting Detroit with 3.6 seconds to go, Rashard Lewis hit a 12-foot jumper as time expired to lift Orlando.
Hedo Turkoglu had 26 points and Dwight Howard added 23 for the Magic.
Richard Hamilton scored 21 points and Tayshaun Prince added 20 for Detroit.
Lakers 116, Nuggets 99
Derek Fisher scored a season-high 28 points, Jordan Farmar added 19, and short-handed Los Angeles used a 31-8 run spanning the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth for its 18th win in 22 games.
Kobe Bryant had 17 points and a season-high 11 assists for the Lakers.
Allen Iverson led visiting Denver with 24 points and seven assists. Carmelo Anthony had 13 points and four rebounds before leaving in the second quarter with a sprained left ankle.
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